Event Details

Western States Legal Foundation (WSLF) will be hosting its 30th anniversary gala, “Half Life: Celebrating 30 Years of Working for Peace and Disarmament,” with special guests: retiring Congressman Dennis Kucinich; “Pentagon Papers” whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg; journalist and San Francisco radio host Rose Aguilar; and Representative Barbara Lee, on February 10, 2013, at Oakland’s First Congregational Church.

Opening Reception "A Taste of Oakland" 5-6:30pm

Local restaurants will be offering appetizers and samples from their menus. Wine will be offered and you will get a chance to mingle with our Special Guests. Music provided by Duo Andino (Andean flutes).

Half Life Main Event 7-9pm

Hear keynote speeches by Representative Kucinich and Daniel Ellsberg followed by a panel discussion on "Reframing the Nuclear Discourse in the Current Geopolitical Climate." The evening will be moderated by Rose Aguilar.

Special Guests

Congressman Dennis Kucinich has been in Congress for 18 years working as a tireless advocate for peace and for worker rights, civil rights and human rights. He has brought a strong progressive voice to the national scene through his service in Congress and campaigns for public office, raising the visibility of real alternatives to an economy and politics dominated by giant corporations and the military-industrial complex. Congressman Kucinich has written and co-sponsored legislation to create a national health care system, preserve Social Security, lower the costs of prescription drugs, provide economic development through infrastructure improvements, abolish the death penalty, provide universal prekindergarten to all 3, 4, and 5 year olds, create a Department of Peace, regulate genetically engineered foods, repeal the USA PATRIOT Act, and provide tax relief to working class families. He also has served as UN representative for Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament. This will be his first speaking engagement after leaving Congress

Daniel Ellsberg is best known for having worked on the top secret study of U.S. Decision-making in Vietnam , known as the Pentagon Papers, and for releasing them to the public. His trial, on twelve felony counts posing a possible sentence of 115 years was dismissed in 1973 on grounds of governmental misconduct against him, which led to the convictions of several White House aides and figured in the impeachment proceedings against President Nixon. Less well known is his work for the Rand Corporation and as a consultant to the Defense Department and the White House, specializing in problems of the command and control of nuclear weapons, nuclear war plans, and crisis decision-making. Since the end of the Vietnam War, Ellsberg has been a lecturer, writer and activist of the nuclear era, wrongful U.S. interventions and the urgent need for patriotic whistleblowing. In December 2006 he was awarded the 2006 Right Livelihood Award, known as the “Alternative Nobel Prize,” in Stockholm, Sweden, “…for putting peace and truth first, at considerable personal risk, and dedicating his life to inspiring others to follow his example.” He is the author of three books: Papers on the War (1971), Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers (2002), and Risk, Ambiguity and Decision (2001), and is at work on an account of his experience in the world of nuclear weapons and war planning.

Congresswoman Barbara Lee is a forceful and progressive voice in Congress, dedicated to social and economic justice, international peace, and civil and human rights. First elected in 1998 to represent California’s 9th Congressional District, the Democratic lawmaker has established a reputation for principled and independent stands, unafraid to take on the tough issues and speak her mind for her constituents, for a more just America, and for a safer world. In 2001, Lee was the only vote in Congress against the war, just days after 9/11. An early and outspoken opponent of the Iraq War, the congresswoman repeatedly proposed legislation seeking early U.S. troop withdrawal. In 2007, she successfully blocked funds from being used to establish permanent military bases in Iraq. Her 2008 amendment requiring that any U.S. agreement to defend Iraq be expressly authorized by Congress or be included in a Senate approved treaty was stripped from a defense bill under the threat of a veto by President Bush.

Rose Aguilar is the host of KALW's Your Call and author of the book Red Highways: A Journey into the Heartland. In addition to hosting Your Call, Rose provides a weekly commentary about undercover activism for KPFK's Uprising, and writes about politics and social issues for Truthout and Al Jazeera English. Before joining KALW, Rose was a reporter and weekend host for CNET Radio where she covered technology's impact on society.

Jackie Cabasso in 1984, as a consequence of her first arrest and trial for protesting nuclear weapons development at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab, became Executive Director of the Oakland-based Western States Legal Foundation, where in addition to organizing, speaking, and writing, she still designs T-shirts and fliers. Committed to nonviolence and international law, Jackie has been working for nuclear disarmament, peace and environmental sustainability at the local, national and international levels for more than 30 years. In 1995 she was a “founding mother” of the Abolition 2000 Global Network to Eliminate Nuclear Weapons. She currently serves on the Steering Committee of United for Peace and Justice and as North American Coordinator of Mayors for Peace. She was the 2008 recipient of the International Peace Bureau’s Sean MacBride Peace Award.

Honorary Hosts:

Representative Barbara Lee

Ronald V. Dellums, former member of Congress former Mayor, Oakland, CA

Cecile Pineda, author, Devil's Tango: How I Learned the Fukushima Step by Step

Douglas Roche, former Canadian Ambassador for Disarmament

Randy Rydell, Senior Political Affairs Officer, United Nations Office of the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs

Alice Slater

Gar Smith, Environmentalists Against War author, Nuclear Roulette

Norman Soloman

Rebecca Solnit

Bruce Stedman

Fr. Louise Vitale, OFM

S. Brian Willson, Nuremberg Actions

Plutonium Hosts:

Steve and Barbara Brooks

Jim and Carrie Burroughs

Dr. Phillip and Cheryl Cabasso

Claudia Gowan and Wescott Peterson

Judy and Roy Nagadegawa

Alan Ramo and Leslie Rose

Patrice Sutton and Dr. Robert Gould

Randy Ziglar and Cris Gutierrez

Uranium Hosts:

Cynda Collins Arsenault

Roberta Brooks

Carol Brouillet

Catherine Burroughs and Sarah Finney

Helen and Raj Desai

MacGregor Eddy

Theodosia Ferguson

Don Knutson

Sherry Larsen-Beville

Charlotte Lichterman

M.V. Ramana

Barbara Rhine and Walter Riley

Kathryn Seligman

Rob and Linda Thiele

Topakian Communications (Karen Topakian)

Susan Toth

Peter Weiss

Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, San Francisco

Organizational Hosts:

American Service Committee/U.S. West Region

Berkeley-East Bay Gray Panthers

Bill of Rights Defense Committee

California Peace Alliance

Ecumenical Peace Institute

International Peace Bureau

Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy

Middle East Children’s Alliance

Mount Diablo Peace and Justice Center

Nafsi ya Jamii

Nevada Desert Experience

No Nukes Action

Pax Christi, Fremont

Reaching Critical Will/Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom

Nuclear Age Peace Foundation

Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment

United Nations Association-USA East Bay Chapter

Veterans for Peace East Bay Chapter #162

Have questions about Half Life: Celebrating 30 Years of Working for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament with Special Guests Dennis Kucinich, Daniel Ellsberg, Representative Barbara Lee, and Rose Aguilar?
Contact Western States Legal Foundation

When & Where

First Congregational Church
2501 Harrison Street Oakland,
CA 94612

Sunday, February 10, 2013 from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM (PST)

Organizer

Western States Legal Foundation

WSLF, an Oakland-based non-profit, public interest organization founded in 1982, seeks to abolish nuclear weapons as an essential step in making possible a more secure, just, and environmentally sustainable word. Originally founded to provide legal assistance to peaceful protesters at California’s Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant (hence, our name), WSLF’s program has evolved to encompass a broad range of research, advocacy and organizing. Grounded in commitments to nonviolence and international law, WSLF provides information, analysis and advocacy that is professional in quality and rooted in the values of the social movements we serve. In our work with local, national and international networks and coalitions, WSLF has increasingly sought to link nuclear disarmament with global and domestic issues of peace, justice and sustainability.Jackie Cabasso, our Executive Director, a recipient of the International Peace Bureau’s Sean MacBride Peace Prize, and Andy Lichterman, our Senior Research Analyst, have been working tirelessly for half their lives organizing and speaking out for nuclear disarmament and peace